EXPERT ADVICE

The Best Craft Meads

Bobby "Honeybee" Slanzi's Ghost Pepper Mead

6 of 6

In New York City meadmaking circles, Bob Slanzi is rapidly becoming a legend. Slanzi's meads begin with local honey, and by local we mean beehives on the roof of his Yonkers house. The bee's forage throughout the New York City area and produce a stellar wildflower honey. Slanzi blends the honey with a wide variety of exotic ingredients for unique flavors. His meads have featured everything from coconut in his Colada mead to a cumin, peach, and black cherry concoction. Slanzi's most famous experiment, though, is his Ghost Pepper Mead in which he tames the notoriously fiery chili and coaxes out its subtle flavor with careful blending. Ghost Pepper took best of show in the 2013 Homebrew Alley VII competition of the New York City Homebrewers Guild, beating out 762 beers, meads, and ciders. It is, bar none, the best mead we have ever tasted.